The Swords Within
by SkylarEQuinn
Summary: Human AU. When a war breaks out in a once-peaceful kingdom, it's up to the king's elite force to make things peaceful once more. And if they can't do it, no one can. But when bound by so many social norms and regulations, can even they stop the new threat from rising to a higher power than the one that they serve?
1. Prologue

_A/N: So I got this idea from a story my brother wrote when he was in fifth grade but never finished. He's 25 now, so I doubt he'll ever finish it. Please read and review if you have the time!_

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Erland Oxenstierna quickly ducked under a tree branch and jumped over a fallen tree limb as he ran through the dark forest. He had to get away, and fast. If only he could stop crying, but his electric green eyes kept filling with tears, blinding him.

"I've got my sights on him!" Erland heard one of the soldiers call to the others that were chasing him. His heart skipped a beat.

"Just go away!" he shouted back at them. As he began to pick up speed, he tripped over a tree root, falling to the ground. "Leave me alone!" He scrambled to his feet and kept running, ignoring the bleeding cuts and scrapes all over his body. What did they want with him anyway?

A pair of strong arms came from behind a tree and grabbed Erland, pulling him over. The young boy attempted a scream, but a hand was clamped firmly over his mouth.

"Please don't do that," a voice pleaded. "We _really_ don't need you to blow our cover, kid."

Erland looked around himself to see three men standing there. The one holding him looked a year or two younger than the other two. He had light hair and glasses, but it was hard to tell his hair and eye color in the dark. To Erland, he seemed a lot stronger than the one who had his hand over his mouth.

"Matt, they're coming," the one with his hand over Erland's mouth whispered. Though it was dark, Erland could see how green his eyes were. It was almost as if they were glowing in the moonlight. "What do we do?"

"Why would he know?" the third man whispered. He was the shortest of the three, but not by much. "We've got the kid, now all we have to do is get out of here."

"We're surrounded by enemy soldiers," the green-eyed one sighed. He turned to Erland. "Got any ideas, kid?"

Before Erland could respond, the shorter one let out a scoff. "He's been running from them all night, Antonio. If he had a plan, he would've executed it by now, don't you think?"

Erland struggled to free himself. "Let me go!" he whispered. The man holding him let go. "I don't know who you are or what you want with me, but I need to get out of here!"

"We're rescuing you," the green-eyed one stated, annoyed.

"I don't need to be rescued," Erland grumbled.

"We found him!" a soldier called. The four of them turned to see the soldier and his entire force coming toward them.

"Ah, would you look at that," the green-eyed man observed, "we're surrounded by Elizaveta's soldiers."

Erland was filled to the brim with anger. Who did the three men think they were, grabbing him like that? Now they were going to be captured. A wild storm of emotions rose within him. He was furious. He was scared. What was there to do? Looking down at his hands, he could see them lighting up with power. But which power was it?

"Leave me alone," Erland warned the nearby soldiers.

"Seize him!" a soldier shouted. Two soldiers, following command, grabbed each of Erland's arms.

"Hey, he's ours!" the green-eyed man argued, stepping toward him.

"Antonio, shut up!" the shorter one snapped as each other them were grabbed by soldiers as well.

Erland's inner being was on fire. All he wanted was to be left alone. Using all the strength within himself, he broke free from the soldiers' grasp. "I said, 'Leave me _alone_!'" he shouted, raising his hands up toward the sky. Lightning began shooting from them.

"Activate your barriers!" the strong man shouted.

Erland could no longer control what was happening as bright light flashed all around them. He could feel his energy being quickly sucked from him until he had no more and dropped to the ground, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Charlotte is Belgium._

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Antonio Fernandez Carriedo walked down the long corridor toward the infirmary of the base. His loose, dark curls bounced with every step as his bright green eyes fixed straight ahead.. He was on a mission, to check on the kid.

"Back so soon, Antonio?" Lovina Vargas asked as he walked into the infirmary. She followed him across the room with her mahogany eyes. "He's still not awake." She walked over and stood next to an occupied bed with Antonio. The both looked down at the young boy in it and his tangled mess of flaming red hair. "Hopefully he'll wake up soon. It's been two days."

"You should've seen the forest when we left it, Lovina." Antonio let out a low whistle. "Completely petrified." He looked up at her. "Thank the good Lord above for barriers. If we hadn't activated them just then, we would've been turned to stone as well."

"Count your blessings, Toni." She sighed as she looked down at the boy. "That must've been some trip for the poor kid, though." Lovina frowned. "Sucked every last bit of energy out of him." She pushed the boy's bangs back as she placed a hand on his forehead. "His fever has gone down. I hope he wakes up soon."

"He should," Antonio assured. When he saw her worried expression, he gently grabbed her hand. "Lovina, you have the best healing skills out of anyone I know. He'll wake up." Lovina sighed and Antonio put an arm around her and squeezed her close to him. "You'll see, Lovi. I believe in your superior healing skills."

Lovina forced a smile. "Thanks, Toni."

Antonio quickly took his arm back as Francis Bonnefoy entered the room. Being a little shorter than Antonio, Francis was more serious and took things more literal than his best friend. Francis pushed his blond hair out of his blue eyes as he stood on the other side of Lovina.

"Has the kid woken up yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Lovina sighed, which earned her a reassuring look from Antonio. "We just have to be patient, Francis."

"You may not be worried about this, but I am," Francis responded. "We don't have forever, Lovina."

Antonio wanted, more than anything, to defend Lovina, but he couldn't bring himself to. Francis's words may have been harsh, but he was right. They didn't have much time. Elizaveta was getting stronger with every passing day. There was no time to waste.

"Sorry for not being born a warlock," Lovina spat at him. She quickly walked away from her companions so they couldn't see that Francis's words had hurt her, but Antonio could tell anyway. "You two should go. I'll notify you when he's awake."

"Sounds good," Francis agreed, heading toward the door. "Let's go, Toni."

Antonio glanced toward Lovina before following after Francis. "Right behind you, buddy."

Lovina's eyes followed Antonio out. He reminded her of a puppy; cute, fun, and loyal to his best friend. If only he could be loyal to her every once in awhile.

.

Erland was trapped in a neverending darkness. Never in his life had he ever been so scared. Even when he called out, there was no one there to here. He was trapped and completely alone.

And just when he thought of giving up, he saw a glimmer of light and headed toward it. As he got nearer, he noticed that the light was warm. He also began to hear voices. One was a man's, the other a woman's.

"Well he has to wake up sometime," the man's voice said.

"I understand that, Ludwig, but we have to be patient. I told Francis the same thing this morning," the woman's voice replied. "He'll wake up soon enough."

The man sighed. "Well just let me know then.

Erland had reached the light and once again found himself in darkness. His eyes were closed. Bright light shone in his face as he slowly opened his eyes to see a young woman standing next to the bed he was lying on. Her eyes were an unnatural mahogany color and her hair was in a long, dark ponytail. He had never seen her before.

"Ludwig!" she softly called. "Ludwig, he's awake."

A man suddenly appeared next to her. He was extremely muscular with blue eyes and slicked back blond hair. Erland felt nervous. He had never seen these people before, and it scared him.

"Summon the force, Lovina," the man commanded, and the woman left the bedside. "Do you speak English?" he asked Erland, who nodded, too afraid to speak. "Do you have a name?"

Erland struggled to find his voice. "Erland," he finally choked out.

"How old are you, Erland?"

"I'm thirteen," he managed to say. Gathering up all of the strength within himself, Erland managed to look the man in the eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Ludwig Beilschmidt," the man answered. "I work on the special forces for the king. Three of my men saved you from Elizaveta's soldiers the other night." Erland remembered the men. "Do you know why the soldiers were after you?"

Erland looked down. "It's because I'm different, isn't it?" All his life, he had been different from everyone around him, starting with his unnaturally green eyes and ending with the things that would happen whenever he got too upset. "I was always told someone would come for me eventually." He swallowed. "They told me I was the last of my kind." Erland looked up at Ludwig. "Do you know what they meant by that?"

"I do," Ludwig told him. "Erland, long ago, mages lived in peace with the mortal and immortal warriors. That is, until Elizaveta rose to power about twelve years ago." Erland flinched at the mention of Elizaveta's name. "She began picking off the mages one-by-one."

"But I'm not a mage," the boy interrupted. "I couldn't be!"

"How else would you have petrified that entire forest?"

Erland was quiet for a moment, processing that new information. "I did?" He looked up at Ludwig as more people filed into the room. "But why would Elizaveta want me?"

"You are the last of the mages. She wants to use your powers for evil. We," Ludwig gestured to himself and the others in the room, "are here to keep you safe and make sure that never happens."

"Thanks," the boy quietly said.

The woman from before walked back over to the bed with a tall glass of water in one hand and brightly-colored pills in the other. "I had to wait for you to wake up before I gave you these."

"Why is that?" Erland asked, accepting them.

"I had to see if you were mortal or not," she casually answered.

"Well I'm as mortal as they come, ma'am," Erland sighed before putting the pills in his mouth.

The woman waited until he swallowed before saying, "Actually, you're not. You're immortal, like most mages."

Erland nearly gagged. "But I couldn't be! The rest of my family is mortal! How do you know?"

"I can tell by your eyes," she softly said. "You may have been raised by mortals, but you most certainly are not mortal."

"Ha!" a man cried out, pointing over at another man with wavy, blond hair, glasses, and a curl in the front. Erland recognized them immediately. The blond man was the one who had grabbed him in the forest, and the man who had laughed was the one who had those bright green eyes that he could never forget. "I knew he was immortal! The green-eyed man thrust his hand toward his companion. "Pay up, Matthew!"

Erland watched the other man pull money out of his pocket and place it in the hand that was outstretched toward him, grumbling, "Shut up, Toni."

The woman who had given Erland the pills turned and gave them a sharp look. "Matthew! Antonio! Could you not?"

"Sorry, Lovina," they both mumbled, looking down, the green-eyed man grinning.

"But," Erland began, "that can't be. All my life, I was told that I was mortal."

"Nah, kid," the green-eyed man said, coming forward and standing by the woman. "You're immortal, just like me and Lovina here."

"Hey, don't forget about me," another woman said. She had been standing next to the shorter man from the forest. Her hair was curly and blonde, and Erland couldn't help but marvel at her eyes. They were fluorescent green on the top and emerald green on the bottom.

"I forgot you on purpose," the green-eyed man sighed. "Just because you're Francis's girlfriend doesn't mean I always have to include you."

"Dick," the girl muttered. Erland watched the shorter man slip his hand into hers and lace their fingers together. He could tell the man was mortal and couldn't help remembering being told that love between a mortal and an immortal was forbidden. Though he couldn't remember why it was forbidden, Erland still felt a twinge of sadness for them.

Ludwig turned to face his team. "Alright guys, this is Erland." He gestured to Erland, who flushed. "Now that you all know his name, don't you think he should know yours?"

The green-eyed man's hand shot up into the air. "Pick me, Ludwig! I'll go first!" Ludwig nodded to him. "Hey, Erland! I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo," he greeted, sticking his hand out. Erland slowly shook it. "Let me be your guide to your newfound life as an immortal." The boy tried not to laugh as he watched the two immortal women roll their eyes. "It'll be great!"

The woman with the mahogany eyes smiled brightly at Erland. "Hello, I'm Lovina Vargas. I'm the healer of the group, so if you're ever hurting or anything, you can always come to me and I'll get you all fixed up, okay?"

"Well I'm guessing it's my turn now," the man with the blond hair and glasses suggested. "Matthew Williams at your service. At this time, I have been appointed your guardian, so yeah. If you need anything at all, you can always come find me."

"I'll go next," the shorter man said. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy. I'm Antonio's Blood Brother. If you have any questions about that, feel free to ask." He thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling of the infirmary. "Like Antonio and Matthew have said,I'm here if you need me, so feel free to come to me if need be."

"I guess I'm last," Francis's girlfriend said. She gave Erland a warm smile. "I'm Charlotte Schmit. I've been studying ninjitsu for the past hundred years, so now you can say you know the king's personal ninja. Fun fact about where we are right now is that we are directly under the castle, so you are currently on royal ground." Charlotte giggled a little. "I've always thought that was cool."

Erland looked at his many new acquaintances. "It's nice to meet you all."

Antonio glanced over at Ludwig. "Should we take him upstairs? He hasn't eaten in, like, three days."

Ludwig looked up toward the ceiling. "Why don't we all go? It's been awhile since we dined with the royal family, and I know King Ivan has been wanting to meet our new companion. Alright, crew, let's head upstairs."

As they walked down a long corridor, Erland made a point to catch up with Matthew. "Hey!" he said, getting his attention.

"Oh hey, Erland! What's up?" Matthew asked as they headed up the stairs.

"You said that you were my guardian," the boy recalled. "What did you mean by that exactly?"

"How old are you?"

"I am thirteen. Why?"

"This may sound weird, considering that I'm only eleven years older than you," Matthew began, "but I am your legal guardian." Erland looked surprised. "Don't worry, I don't expect any parental titles or anything like that. You were all alone, so I volunteered to take you under my wing is all."

"Oh," Erland thought aloud. He looked up at Matthew. "Well thank you."

Matthew smiled at the young mage boy. "No problem, Erland."

As he headed the rest of the way upstairs, Erland thought over the drastic change in his life. One minute he's running for his life, and then he wakes up in a sort of dream reality. The last time he had eaten, he had lived on the streets, and now he was preparing to dine with the royal family. He excitedly wondered what else was in store for him.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Please read and review if you like it!_

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Princess Irunya studied herself in her vanity mirror in her sleeping chambers. She had just been informed that he father's special force was to be dining with them that evening and she wanted to look presentable. It wasn't often that they all dined together those days.

There was a sudden knock on her door that startled her. "Who is it?" she called.

"It's me!" her younger sister Natalia called through the door.

"Come in!" Irunya called back.

Natalia slowly entered, shutting the doors behind her. "Lukas is asking about you. You've been in here all day, Irunya. Is something wrong?"

Irunya stood up and gestured for Natalia to sit where she had just been sitting. "No, nothing's wrong, Natalia," she assured. "I just haven't been feeling very sociable today is all." She began to run a brush through her sister's long, blonde hair. "What good is being alive if you can't have a lazy day ever once in awhile?"

"Are you sure you're not just hiding?"

The older sister laughed. "Hiding? Who would I be hiding from, Natalia?"

"Come on, Irunya. Even I know that you don't want to marry Lukas."

"Of course not," Irunya agreed with a nod. "He's always breathing down my neck and hounding me." She sighed as she began to braid her sister's hair. "Why Father likes him I will never understand. Now enough about me. Are you excited for tonight?"

"Why should I be?" Natalia curiously asked.

"Antonio Fernandez Carriedo is going to be at dinner tonight," Irunya reminded. The younger of the two sighed, causing her sister to ask, "What is it, Natalia?"

"Antonio is immortal, Irunya, in case you have forgotten," Natalia grumbled. "Mortals and immortals are forbidden to love each other."

"That's not stopping Francis and Charlotte, now is it?" the older sister asked.

"You also forget that Antonio is in love with Lovina," Natalia sighed, "and I could never compete with her."

"Then let's forget about Antonio for a while," Irunya suggested, tying the ends with ribbons. "Father says that the mage boy is thirteen years old. You're only three years older, Natalia."

"If you forget from your studies, mages are immortal as well."

"Francis and Charlotte," Irunya reminded.

"I guess you're right," Natalia half-heartedly agreed. "So Irunya, if you're not in love with Lukas, then who are you in love with?"

"Nobody," Irunya answered with a mischievous grin. "I am like Ludwig," she joked, "completely aromantic."

Natalia laughed. "He definitely is." She admired her braids in the mirror. "Now we might want to make our way to the dining hall before they begin dinner without us. If I know Father, he does not wait for anyone."

.

Francis seated himself between Antonio and Charlotte at King Ivan's banquet table, his usual spot. Across from him sat Matthew with Erland on one side and an empty chair on the other. Before them sat silver trays piled with food. Eating with the king was one of Francis's favorite things to do. It made him feel important.

"Those girls get prettier and prettier every time I see them," Charlotte whispered to him as the royal family entered the room.

Everyone present stood up as King Ivan walked to the table and sat at its head next to Ludwig and Lovina. Irunya seated herself in the empty chair next to Matthew as her fiance, Lukas Bondevik, sat on the other side of her. Natalia rushed over to Charlotte and quickly seated herself next to her, almost as if she were afraid someone would steal that spot. Once the royal family was seated, everyone else sat down.

Francis glanced over at Lukas as he heard the words "Blood Brother" escape his lips. Though Lukas was whispering to Irunya, Francis could still hear every word he said. He knew Lukas didn't take too kindly to his kind, probably out of jealousy, but couldn't he have at least saved it for another time? A time when they weren't sitting across the table from each other?

"Oh, do stop mumbling to me," Irunya groaned, rolling her pretty, blue eyes. "You know that Francis is the only one who can hear you, and it's best not to start a war at the dinner table."

Francis smiled at Irunya, who returned the favor. "Lukas, if it isn't too much trouble, you should at least do some research on my kind before blabbering on like an idiot. You got some facts wrong. For starters, I-"

"Oh, snap!" Antonio taunted. "Someone didn't do their research!" He snapped his fingers in a "Z" formation before asking, "Are you sure you're ready for this, Luke?"

"It's Lukas," he grumbled at Antonio, trying to remain gruff.

"Yeah, I don't care," Antonio said. "Shut up and leave my Blood Brother alone, will ya?"

"Yes," Matthew agreed. "Let's focus on something more important, like Miss Irunya. Isn't she just stunning tonight?"

"An absolute beauty," Antonio agreed as Irunya blushed.

"Could we _not_ always turn the attention to _my_ fiancee all the time?" Lukas asked. "I know just how beautiful she is, and I make it a habit to tell her each and every day."

"Or whenever you remember," Irunya sighed, making everyone in the conversation but Lukas laugh.

"I remember every time I see you, m'lady," Matthew assured, making Irunya smile.

Francis laughed and taunted with Matthew and Antonio throughout the entire meal. They all hated Lukas and couldn't understand why the king approved of him. Not even Irunya could stand him, and they all knew it.

As they got up from the table, Matthew began to turn toward the garden exit.

"Sneaking around again?" Francis quietly asked.

"Can't disobey royalty," Matthew answered.

"You'll get caught one of these days," Francis warned.

"As will you, Francis."

Francis's heart skipped a beat. "Good luck then," was all he could bring himself to say before turning and going back to headquarters.

.

Matthew soundlessly toured the garden. It was a beautiful night outside as he watched the sun set over the rose bed. He didn't know how long he needed to wait, yet he waited patiently every night. He knew every inch of the garden from walking through it every single night. Some nights he walked alone, but most nights he had company.

"Mattie," he heard a voice say. "It's lovely to see you out here tonight."

He quickly turned around to see Princess Irunya standing behind him. Her short, blonde hair was blowing in the gentle evening breeze. She looked so beautiful that Matthew had to discreetly pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"It's lovely to see you as well, my lady," he told her, taking her hands and kissing them. "What brings you out here on a night like tonight?"

Irunya softly laughed as they began to walk together. "I could be asking you the same thing, Matthew."

Matthew offered her his arm and she took it. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it? Not a cloud in thw sky. You can see every star for miles."

"I love it when you talk about stars," Irunya softly admitted. "It reminds me of my mother. She always studied astrology and knew every constellation in the sky and the story behind it." She sighed. "Today marks the fourth anniversary of her death."

The soldier frowned. "You must miss her."

"Terribly," the princess assured. "I was only fifteen when she died. Though Natalia had just turned twelve, she didn't understand the concept of death very well. We both knew Mother was sick, yet I don't think Natalia understood that Mother was dying until the day she left us." Irunya smiled at Matthew. "My mother was the strongest woman I knew, and the greatest queen this country ever had. I can only hope to be a fraction of the queen she was one day."

"Irunya, you will make a great queen one day," Matthew kindly assured.

"That's very kind of you, Matthew," the princess mused. She stopped and turned to him, placing a hand on his cheek. "Oh, how I wish you were a prince." She sighed. "Then I could marry you instead and we could rule this country together one day." Irunya leaned against Matthew. "Just think about it."

"King Matthew does have a nice ring to it," he softly admitted, making her smile. He wrapped his arms around Irunya.

"I love you," Irunya softly whispered to him, leaning her head into his chest. "Couldn't we just run away together and forget everything else?"

"My loyalty lies to you father, to protect you. You know that, Irunya."

"I just hate that I can't marry you, Matthew. I hate it. If only I weren't royalty." She closed her eyes and imagined their future together as she said, "I could marry you and we'd move to the countryside. We'd have beautiful children, and we would all be so happy. Matthew, just think of how happy we'd be."

Matthew sighed, knowing that it could never be so. "We would be happy," he agreed. "But you're a princess, Irunya. I'm just a soldier on the Royal Forces."

"I don't want to marry Lukas, Matthew," Irunya sighed. "I want to marry _you_."

"Have you spoken to your father about this?"

"I could never," the princess sadly told him. "Father is so happy about Lukas. I couldn't ruin this for him."

"But what about your happiness?"

"It doesn't matter," she simply answered. She decided to change the subject. "Tell me about Erland. What's he like?"

"I'm not sure just yet," Matthew responded. "I haven't been able to talk to him much. He seems like a good kid, definitely has a strong head on those shoulders of his, though. Ludwig wants to train him for the Special Forces."

"What do you think of that?" Irunya asked. "Considering that he's your ward."

"I will let Erland make that choice for himself, just like I did. I will do as my parents did and let my son make his own choices."

"That's very wise of you." Irunya grabbed Matthew's hand as they began to walk again. "Better he make the decisions than hate you for making the wrong one for him."

"Exactly what I thought."

For the next half hour, the two walked in the garden, making small talk and randomly whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. They were so preoccupied with each other that they didn't notice the darkness that began to surround them outside.

Irunya looked up at the moon. "Father will be wondering where I am. I must go now."

"Will I see you here tomorrow night?"

"You will," the princess assured. She quickly kissed her love's lips. "Goodnight, my darling Matthew."

"Goodnight." Only once the princess was safe inside the castle did Matthew decide to return to headquarters.


	4. Chapter 3

"So what was your question again?" Francis asked Antonio, tossing his baseball against the wall and catching it as it bounced back. Antonio was always asking Francis so many questions at once that he always had trouble keeping track. It was either that or he'd ask a question and go on such a long spiel about it that the subject would change and they would both forget a question was even asked.

Antonio sighed and blew his bangs out of his eyes. "Man, I don't even remember," he groaned. He rolled onto his stomach and let his arms dangle over the top bunk of their bunk bed.

Francis sighed and slapped Antonio's hands out of his face. "I think it had something to do with puppies?" He tossed the ball against the wall and caught it again on the bounce back. "You were saying Lovina said something to you about puppies, if I remember correctly."

The Spaniard sat bolt upright. "That's right!" He hung his head over the edge to look at Francis as he said, "She told me I act like a puppy! Can you believe that?"

"Did you ask her what she meant by that?" Francis calmly asked.

Antonio's excited fury vanished as he went back to sitting up straight. "I didn't," he thought aloud. "I probably should have."

"Probably," the Frenchman agreed, rolling his eyes.

"Franny?" Antonio sweetly asked.

There was a deep sigh from the bottom bunk. "What?"

"What do I remind you of?" The Spaniard hung his head over the side again to peer at his Blood Brother.

"A mosquito," Francis answered, lying back on his bunk and opening a book.

"A mosquito?! Why a mosquito?!"

"Because you're both annoying, you're both dangerous, and you both bite." Francis shoved his forearm in Antonio's face. There was a scar on it from when the Spaniard had bitten him during a delusional episode.

Antonio pushed his forearm away. "You're just overreacting, Francis. I envision myself as more of a lion. You know, proud, fearless, courageous, and I have a majestic mane to top it all off."

"Majestic," Francis noted as he began reading, "right."

At that moment, Matthew entered the room and shut the door before pulling off his shirt and sitting on his cot in the corner. Two pairs of curious eyes followed him as he did so.

"Someone's been out with Princess Irunya," Antonio observed with a grin.

"Did Francis tell you that?" Matthew asked, lying back on the cot.

"Francis doesn't have to say a word. I can tell by the way you act."

Matthew sat up. "It's that obvious?"

"Don't let Toni worry you," Francis sighed, marking his spot in his book. He closed it and set it down on his nightstand. "You know that he just has a gift for reading people." Matthew shrugged his agreement as the Frenchman continued. "Antonio and I will carry your little secret to our graves."

"Just like how Matthew and I will carry your little secret to our graves," Antonio assured.

Francis blushed a deep red. "Right. Exactly."

"Your guilty, dirty, little secret."

"I get it!" Francis snapped. He ran his long, pale fingers through his blond hair in frustration. "I don't even know how much longer it will even be a secret. Lovina is on the verge of finding out, and then she'll have to tell Ludwig, who will tell King Ivan!" Francis took a deep breath to attempt to relax himself. "Some days I wish it weren't true."

"No, don't say that, Francis," Matthew said. "I know you're worried about it, yet I know just how excited you are as well."

"Excited?!" Francis exclaimed, voice cracking. "You think I'm _excited_?!"

"Well at least I thought you were," Matthew muttered to himself, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"I'm not." The Frenchman sighed and laid back on his bunk. "You're not even supposed to know, Matthew. Charlotte only gave me permission to tell Antonio, and that's for obvious reasons."

"Blood Brothers for life," Antonio quickly muttered, knocking knuckles with Francis, who stuck his fist up toward him.

"You tell Toni everything," Matthew huffed, crossing his arms. "I wish I had a Blood Brother."

"Trust me, you don't," Francis quickly assured. "It's very troublesome, especially when you have one like Antonio. He's quite adventurous and our souls are bonded together _forever_. It's quite the commitment that my mother made for me without my permission the day I was born. A lot of people throughout history never said this, but being the mortal Blood Brother is a lot of work. You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders for keeping your immortal one out of trouble."

"When am I ever in trouble?" Antonio demanded.

"Can it," his Blood Brother snapped at him. "But as I was saying, having a Blood Brother as free-spirited as Antonio is really a hassle. He's always somewhere, sticking his nose in places where it doesn't belong. Sometimes I wish he was the mortal one. But then I'd probably be dead by now." Francis sighed. "I just can never win with this."

Matthew smiled in pity at Francis. "I feel as if I understand a little better now. Thank you for opening my eyes."

"Anytime, Matt. Now let's just all go to bed. It's late."

.

Irunya laid in bed late that night, thinking. All she wanted was to run away to the countryside with Matthew and live happily ever after. Was that too much to ask for? It was all she could think of that late at night; a future with Matthew.

She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling of her bed chamber, wishing that it could be true. How she wished she had never been born into royalty and had just been born a commoner instead. That way, she could have met Matthew and married him and lived happily ever after with him and their many children.

There was a knock at her chamber door. She quickly checked her clock by her bed to see that it was half past midnight. Who on earth could be wanting her attention so late at night? The only person she could think of would be Natalia, but why? Did she have a bad dream?

Irunya got out of bed and put her robe around her before answering her chamber door. She blinked in surprise when she saw that it was Lukas standing there. "May I help you?" she asked him, confused. "I don't understand what you're here for."

"I didn't think you would be awake," Lukas told her. "Perhaps you were thinking of me as well?"

She sighed. "Why are you at my chamber door?"

"Would you be so kind as to let me in so we could talk?" he asked.

"Do you have any idea what time it is and how indecent your request is?" she demanded, placing her hand on her hip. Irunya was outraged by her fiance's request. First off, she didn't even like this man, so why was he bothering her? Second off, he had his own chamber. Third, conversation could wait until morning!

"Hear me out, Princess," Lukas said. "I just wish to speak to you alone, without anyone around."

"We can do that in the morning," Irunya said. She made a move to close the door. "Goodnight, Prince Lukas."

He shoved his foot in the door to stop it from closing. "Just hear me out!"

"I said goodnight," she answered, venom in her voice. Irunya then kicked his foot out of the way and shut the door before locking it. Leaning against the wall, she took a deep breath and slid down it. Now if only she could get to sleep.

.

Charlotte woke up in the middle of the night, vomiting. She didn't know how much longer she could handle or hide it from her bunk mate, Lovina. All she could do was pray that she was vomiting quietly enough that she wasn't disturbing Lovina. The last thing she needed was for the healer to come in and ask questions.

She had found out she was pregnant two weeks previous and didn't want to believe it. Fearing what would become of her child, she and Francis chose to keep it a secret from everyone but Antonio. Though she and Francis both knew that it was against the law for a mortal and immortal to conceive, they had done it anyway. All she could do now was pray that King Ivan would be merciful toward them when he found out.

Charlotte was shaking as she thought about all of it. It terrified her as she hugged her stomach, leaning against the bathroom wall. Her blonde curls framed her pretty face as she took deep breaths, struggling to keep the tears in her electric green eyes. All she could wonder was if a hybrid baby was really an abomination or not.

Reaching into her pocket, she got out her cell phone and texted Francis, telling him about her anxiety over being pregnant. Hopefully he could calm her down and make her feel better. He always did anyway.

She smiled as a text from him came upon the screen. He had told her not to worry and that they would deal with it together when the time came. Charlotte was so happy that she had fallen in love with such a wonderful man.

Rising to her feet, Charlotte wiped her eyes and flushed the toilet before going back into the bedroom that she shared with Lovina. She nearly screamed when she saw Lovina waiting on the other side of the door.

"This is the third night in a row that you've thrown up in the middle of the night like this," Lovina told her, mahogany eyes gazing deep into the depths of her friend's soul. "Is there something you would like to tell me, Char?"

Charlotte shrugged indifferently. "There's nothing to tell," she simply answered. "I have no idea what you're talking about. If you're referring to me vomiting, then yes, I am. But I am only doing that because I'm pretty sure I have a flu virus."

"That makes you throw up every night like clockwork?" Lovina asked, a skeptical look on her face. "How stupid do you think I am? I'm a healer, Charlotte. I would be able to sense if you were sick. And as a healer, I can sense other things as well. Like the heartbeats of fetuses. When were you planning on telling me that you were pregnant?"

The Belgian girl felt sick instantly. "Please don't tell anyone," she quietly begged. "Please, I'm begging you! If anyone finds out, Francis and I are dead!"

"I won't tell anyone," Lovina answered, a smirk on her face. "What are best friends for? I've sensed the heartbeat for about a month now. I just didn't want to say anything until you said something, or until you were acting suspicious enough for me to 'wonder'."

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lovina! You are seriously the best! The only people who know besides me and Francis are you and Antonio. Antonio knows because of the whole Blood Brother thing." She cringed. "Though he's sworn to secrecy."

"Antonio keeping a secret?" Lovina let out a laugh. "That's a funny joke, Char!"

"Please don't say something like that when I'm already nervous enough," Charlotte sighed. "Seriously, I was already iffy enough on telling him. Don't make me regret it…."

"I was just joking," the Italian woman laughed. "I'm sorry for making you panic. I could trust Antonio with my life."

"Yeah, but that's because you're in love with him," the other woman sighed.

Lovina's face turned bright red. "Th-That's not true!" she stammered. "I am so not in love with Antonio! That's just ridiculous to even think about!"

Charlotte smirked at her best friend. "Come on, Lovina. How long are you going to deny your feelings for him? We all know you're in love with him."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"Why can't you just be honest with him?"

Lovina sighed. "It's complicated. Let's just go to bed. We have stuff to do tomorrow." She quickly hurried back to her bed and crawled into it. "Goodnight."


End file.
